Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

banausic

American  
[buh-naw-sik, -zik] / bəˈnɔ sɪk, -zɪk /

adjective

  1. serving utilitarian purposes only; mechanical; practical.

    architecture that was more banausic than inspired.
banausic British  
/ bəˈnɔːsɪk /

adjective

  1. merely mechanical; materialistic; utilitarian

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of banausic

First recorded in 1835–45; from Greek banausikós, equivalent to bánaus(os) “pertaining to an artisan,” derivative of baûnos “furnace, forge” + -ikos -ic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The gainful occupations, or any occupations pursued for gain, were "banausic," which meant that they had an effect opposite to that of cultivation.

From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by Sumner, William Graham

The burghers began to tune the melodies of a new music: a banausic artisan song.

From Women of the Teutonic Nations Woman: In all ages and in all countries Vol. 8 (of 10) by Schoenfeld, Hermann

Compare the category of banausic trades in de Off, 1.

From A History of Rome During the Later Republic and Early Principate by Greenidge, A. H. J. (Abel Hendy Jones)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.